Flush toilets are commonly used throughout the world to dispose of human waste (e.g., urine and feces) by using water to flush such waste through a drainpipe to another location for processing and further disposal. Flush toilets may be designed for a variety of usage configurations. For example, many flush toilets in the Western hemisphere are designed such that a user sits on the toilet when relieving himself or herself of urine or feces. In other configurations, a flush toilet may be designed for use by squatting over the toilet.
For an example of a traditional flush toilet, FIGS. 1A and 1B set forth a prior art toilet (100) having a toilet tank (102) and toilet bowl (104). The toilet (100) of FIGS. 1A and 1B is made up of a vitreous, ceramic material and plumbing to rapidly fill the bowl (104) with water stored in the reservoir (102). The water in the toilet bowl (104) is connected to a hollow drain pipe (106) through a channel (110) shaped like an upside-down U commonly referred to as a ‘trap’. One side of the U channel (110) is configured longer than the bowl (104) is high so that as water fills the longer side of the U channel (110) its creates a syphoning action as the water flowing toward the drain (106) draws the water (along with any waste) out of the bowl (104) and down the drain (160). The top of the upside-down U-shaped trap (110) limits the height of the water in the bowl before it flows down the drain (106). If water is poured slowly into the bowl (104) it simply flows over the rim of the upside-down U trap (110) and pours slowly down the drain (106)—and thereby the toilet (100) does not ‘flush.’ The standing water in the bowl (104) acts as a barrier to sewer gas coming out of the sewer through the drain (106), and also as a receptacle for waste.
The toilet reservoir (102), also commonly referred to as a ‘tank,’ of FIGS. 1A and 1B stores the water that is used to rapidly fill the toilet bowl (104) when a user triggers the flushing mechanism. The flow of water from the reservoir (102) of FIGS. 1A and 1B to the bowl (104) is regulated by a flapper valve (108), commonly referred to merely as the ‘flapper.’ When a user flushes the toilet, the flapper valve (108) opens and allows water from a reservoir tank (102) to quickly enter the toilet bowl (104). This rapid influx of water from the reservoir (102) causes the swirling water in the bowl to rapidly rise and fill the inverted U-shaped siphoning channel (110) mounted in the back of the toilet (100). Filling the U-shaped channel (110) of FIGS. 1A and 1B starts the siphoning action that rapidly pulls the water and waste in the bowl (104) and the water down the drain (106)—thereby flushing the toilet (100). When most of the water has drained out of the bowl (104), air enters the U-shaped channel (110) thereby breaking the siphonic action of the column of water traveling down toward the drain (106). The toilet then produces its characteristic ‘gurgle’ as the siphonic action ceases and no more water flows out of the toilet. After flushing, the flapper valve (108) in the water tank (102) closes, and water lines and valves connected to the water supply refill the toilet tank (102), and the toilet (100) is ready for use.
According to the American Water Works Association (AWWA), toilets are responsible for approximately twenty-seven percent (27%) of the water used in homes on a daily basis. This amount only increases when there is a water leak—resulting in an incredible loss of water. Moreover, some leaks go undetected for long periods of time. The flapper valve is the most common culprit of a leaking toilet. The flapper valve is supposed to form a watertight seal to hold the water in the reservoir tank, but after a period of time, the flapper valve material begins to deteriorate or collect mineral or other deposits that render this water tight seal ineffective. When this occurs, water begins to leak around the flapper valve into the toilet bowl. Moreover, this most common leak can be difficult to detect because the leaking is silent. Such toilet leaks result in a tremendous amount of water loss—as much as 300 gallons of water by some estimates. Due to the tremendous loss of water due to flapper leaks, there is clearly room for improvements regarding the toilet flushing systems installed in toilet tanks.